Sunday in Formula 1 was marked by the first race in history at Madring and another victory for Kimi Antonelli. The championship leader took advantage of a Virtual Safety Car that appeared at the worst moment for Lando Norris, gained the strategic advantage, and won the Spanish GP, with Max Verstappen in second and Norris in third.
Read more F1: Drivers call for changes in Madring after «sleepy» race
Norris had started from pole and seemed to be controlling the race until the neutralization on lap 15, seconds after passing the pit entry. Antonelli and Verstappen managed to stop immediately, while the Brit had to wait for the next lap and also faced a lengthy tire change. With the result, Antonelli reached 292 points and opened an 81-point lead over George Russell, who finished fifth and admitted that his title chances are diminishing.
For Gabriel Bortoleto, the race ended in frustration. The Brazilian started 12th, lost positions at the start, and stayed 48 laps on Hard tires while Audi waited for another neutralization. It did not happen, and Bortoleto finished only 13th after spending part of the race temporarily inside the points zone.
Verstappen also had a tense moment. The Dutchman got irritated when Red Bull ordered him to give back positions after the battle with Lewis Hamilton in the early laps, but he reacted and finished second, holding off Norris until the flag. Hamilton, in turn, retired after reporting irregular behavior in the brake pedal, a problem whose cause was still to be investigated by Ferrari.
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Charles Leclerc took the other Ferrari to fourth place after an extremely long strategy on Hard tires. The team hoped that a Safety Car or even a red flag could open an opportunity for a podium or victory, but the desired neutralization did not come at the end of the race.
After the debut, Madring itself became a topic in the paddock. Antonelli, Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman, Alexander Albon, and Norris were among the drivers who advocated changes to the layout, mainly to increase overtaking opportunities. Bortoleto summed up the difficulty of the race by joking that he “almost fell asleep,” while Bearman described the track as interesting to drive but “very bad” for racing.
In the championship, besides Antonelli’s lead over Russell, Hamilton remains third with 191 points, followed by Norris with 186, Leclerc with 167, and Verstappen with 145. Among the constructors, Mercedes leads with 503 points, ahead of Ferrari with 358, and McLaren with 306.
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